Team Ayden

This is Ayden.  He was my very first patient I took care of as a doctor.  He is 2 weeks younger than Alexis.  He has a complicated congenital heart defect with the main defect of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, meaning his left side is too small to function.  He has had the first two stages of his repair and his third surgery will be around 2-3 years of age. Not only does he have the heart issue but he also only has one full size lung because his heart is on the wrong side.  Plus his intestines were rotated and he had a g-tube placed.  Needless to say he's been through a lot, a total of 9 months in and out of the hospital.   He was in the hospital from May-July this admission for respiratory distress and he received a trach while in the hospital.  He has now been home for over a week and doing great. 

(Don't worry his mom gave me permission to post this.)

This little boy really touched me. It might be because he was my first official patient, maybe because he's so close in age to Alexis, but I think it was because God allowed our paths to cross.  He makes anyone smile. My first few days taking care of him, he didn't care for me. He had to warm up to me. Then by the time he was discharged, he would smile when I came to his bed. He would also wave bye to me and we could communicate back and forth with tongue "clucking."  Its such a joy knowing I took care of this kid. I feel so blessed that God has chosen me to care for sick children and help them feel better. I love that not only do I get to help the kids, but I enjoy getting to provide comfort and peace for the families.  He is surrounded by such an amazing family. I can't imagine what his parents have experienced, but they never left his bedside. There was never a moment while I cared for him that he was left alone. What's even more amazing was to see the love his parents had for him. To see that special nurturing bond between a son and mother and then the playful bond between father and son. 

I share this information with you and ask for your help.  I will be walking in the Congenital heart Walk on Team Ayden next month. This is a huge fundraiser for congenital heart defects. I am trying to raise $150.  If you can donate in honor of Ayden, that would be great. Even if its only a dollar or two. I really believe God made our paths cross. 

http://congenitalheartwalk.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1057623&lis=0&kntae1057623=995308CF45E54F92B7869F04A97E150D&supId=387995441&team=0&nmv=true

Fun at the Zoo

I had last Saturday off so we took a fun trip to the zoo. We only saw about half the zoo before Alexis fell asleep. Then this week I had Sunday off, so we made a second trip to the zoo to see the other half. The St. Louis zoo is free so why not. I think Alexis had fun! 

Slathered up with sun screen ready to see some animals. 

Watching the penguins. 

She loved watching the big elephants. There's even a baby elephant! 

Passed out not even in the car 5 minutes. 

Zoo Trip #2

We had to see the penguins again. 

Right before they got splashed. 

She loved the big "monkey". 

Looking at the zebras. 

The giraffe was so tall!!! 

Having fun with mommy and daddy! 

I hope you enjoyed viewing our trip to the zoo as we sure had a blast! 

Happy Father's Day

We Have a Walker

I've been meaning to post this for a week now, but for some reason I can't post videos from my phone using the blogger app. :(

Alexis took her first steps May 26th, the weekend we moved into our new house.  What a great way to start new memories in a new home.  This video was taken a few days after her first steps.  She is now all over the place.  She walks more than she crawls now.

Cousins

My sister in law and nephews made the drive from Dallas last weekend to come visit. We haven't seen them since Christmas, so it was fun getting to spend time with them. Alexis was in awe of her cousins. 

Jordan, Alexis, and Jacoby 

Jacoby wanted to hold Alexis so bad. She's not a girl that likes to sit still long enough to be held. Haha

Walmart trip. Alexis wasn't too sure about these crazy boys. 

Fun at the park. 

Uncle Eric took the boys to the pond to go "crawd" fishing. They didn't catch anything. 

Thanks for coming to visit us in our new home in St. Louis. We had a great time! 

Welcome Home

We are officially all moved into our new home in Eureka, Mo. We moved in on Friday, and we have been non stop ever since. We have lots we want to do to make it ours. I painted the kitchen this weekend. 

I will eventually paint the counter tops with Gianis Granite Paint. Then we will either put in hardwoods or stone flooring and a new range/microwave. But for now I love our big open kitchen. 

Ill post more pictures as we get things settled in. It will take some time as we moved from a one bedroom apartment into a four bedroom house with a finished basement. Lets just say we have some empty rooms. Haha

Water Play

Today's fun activity was playing in the water on the patio. I grabbed the largest thing I could find, threw some bath toys in it and she had a blast. Our new house will have a big backyard to play in. For now, the patio and Tupperware bowl will have to do.

Stay at Home Mom

Now that med school is over, I get to be a stay at home mom for a little while. Residency orientation does not start until June 17th, so it's just Alexis and me. I'm excited to spend so much time with her.

Yesterday we walked to the front of the apartment complex to check the mail. Then we walked up to the McDonald's for an ice cream cone. I love this little girl to pieces!

9 Months

Weight: 15lbs 4oz (3rd%)

Length: 27 inches (25th%)

Eating: We are eating anything and everything.  This has been our routine.  Nurse in the morning around 6:45 and then oatmeal with 1-2oz fruit at 7:15.  Then a bottle of expressed breast milk at 10:30, 3oz solids and 1/2 banana at 11:30 for lunch.  Then a bottle at 3:00.  Nurse at 5:30.  Dinner of about 5oz solids at 7:00.  Usually she will also eat whatever we are having for dinner.  She loves eating broccoli, carrots, pancakes, cinnamon apples.  She will eat chicken, ground turkey, anything and everything.  She still isn't too found of fruits.  I can get her to eat strawberries, bananas, and apples.  We tried kiwi this week and she actually liked it.  I've really enjoyed making her baby food.  It's been fun!  The last 2 weeks though she has been having a middle of the night feed around 2:00am.  I have no idea where this came from as she hasn't had a middle of the night feed since December.  Growth Spurt?

Bedtime: So we are still in limbo with this evening nap ordeal.  We tried getting rid of it to see if that would help sleep through the night.  eh not so much.  We are back to taking an evening nap with bed time around 8:30.  We usually do baby massages, pjs, brush our teeth and then story time.  If it's bath night, we do bath first then the rest of the routine.

Awake: She is awake for about 3 hours now.  I'm done with school, so I get to be a stay at home mom.  We are having fun with our awake time.  We have gone for walks, played in the water on the patio, worked on walking, clapping, waving, and blowing kisses.  We also read books and just play.

Naps: She has been taking a one hour nap in the morning around 9:30 and then typically a 2 hour nap around 12:30/1:00.  Then we do the 45-60 min nap in the evenings at 5:30.

Diapers: size 2

Clothes: 6 month clothes 

Favorites: This past weekend she started standing on her own.  She will let go and stand.  She has made it for about 1 minute now.  Once she realizes she's standing she usually plops back down.  If we keep her distracted with a toy in her hands, she can stand longer.  We are also starting to wave bye-bye.  It's so cute.  She has her hand facing her, so she's really waving bye to herself.  She just watches her hand when she does it and then gets so excited.  We are cruising across the couch.  She can walk holding onto our fingers.  She pulls up on everything.  We are having so much fun watching her explore everything around her.

Our New Home

So Eric and I are in the process of buying our first home in Eureka, Mo. We are so excited!!!! Here is a picture of hopefully our new home.

Back To Running

So I decided two weeks ago, that I miss running.  I am trying to get back out to the park 3-4 times a week.  Some friends of ours were sweet enough to give me her old jogging stroller.  I haven't used it yet since it has been chilly out.  Eric and I have just been alternating.  He's home with Alexis and does weights while I run during her nap or vice versa.  Today would have been a great day to take her out in the jogging stroller but unfortunately, she is sick.  She has a fever and has been fussy. :/  Poor thing!

I ran 3 miles today in 31 minutes.  WOOHOO!!!  I would love to do a 1/2 before residency starts.  You can keep up with my progress and help keep me accountable.

On The Move

She is growing up way too fast.  She just needs to slow down!

8 Months

Oh my I can't believe our baby girl is already 8 months.  She is so close to a year.  Sad :(

Weight: 16lbs (Eric got on the scale with her the other day)

Length: 25 1/2 inches (we measured her but she was pretty squirmy)

Eating: We are now doing solids 3x a day, so I really think this has helped her gain some weight.  She nurses in the morning not long after we get up, then she gets 1/4cup of oatmeal with 1.5oz of breast milk and 1oz fruit, then 5oz bottle at 10:30, then at 11:30 2oz fruit & 2oz vegetable for lunch, 5oz bottle at 2:30, nurses at 5:30, followed by solids including 1-2oz meat and then 2-3oz vegetables, nurse right before bed.  This month we have really started feeding her some food off our plate.  It's so fun to watch her enjoy new foods (broccoli, strawberries, pancakes, bread, pasta, meatloaf).

Bedtime: Sometimes she skips her early evening nap, so if she does then bed time is between 8-8:30.  Early this month she kept waking up at 2:30 wide awake jabbering away.  We adjusted some of our feedings to help out with this. We realized if we do her solids early in the evening for some reason she sleeps better than if we do the solids around 7 after that evening nap.

Awake: She is awake for about 2 1/2 hours at a time right now with some stretches of 3 hours.  Usually afternoon-evening are longer stretches.

Naps: She will take about a 30 minute nap in the morning at 9:30 and then an hour and a half nap from 12:30-2:00.  We do a nap again 5:30-6:15ish.  That last evening nap she is usually out, so we wake her up so she doesn't sleep too long.

Diapers: size 2

Clothes: 6 month clothes, jammies are 6-9 month.

Favorites: So just 2 weeks ago she figured out how to pull up to standing.  It's crazy!!!  She figured it out and then the next day she pulls up on EVERYTHING!  It's so cute but this stage comes with lots of falls and tears.  She has had a bruise on her forehead :(  Just last week she took a few steps behind her toy.  (I have a video I will try to upload).

Top Two Teeth!

Bottom Two!

It definitely was a challenge trying to get good pictures this month as she is just on the move.  This is such a fun age as she is exploring and soaking everything up.  Mommy & Daddy love you very much!!!

I matched!

Sorry I'm a little late...

Wow so these past few months have been crazy and full of lots of emotions.  I submitted my rank list February 20th, found out I matched on March 11th, and found out where on March 15th.  Talk about anxiety!

Eric, Alexis and myself will be making the move to St. Louis sometime in May.  I matched at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.  I couldn't be happier.  Eric and I are very excited.  We aren't sure if St. Louis will become our forever home or not, but we are excited to spend the next 3 years there.  We are so excited to finally have a good baseball team to go watch.  Of course I looked up the Ranger's schedule and they will be in St. Louis at the end of June for a 3 game series.  Of course we will be going and sporting our Rangers gear.  (we will all need to get new shirts but that's another story)

We are starting the relocation process including looking for places to live and job hunting for Eric.  I will keep yall posted on our new adventure.

7 Months

Well February doesn't have 30 days, but I guess I'll count today as 7 months.

Weight: 13lbs 10oz (this was in the middle of Feb. we had to go to the urgent care for a fever of 102 due to an ear infection)

Length: ?

Eating: She is finally back to eating a good amount with bottles and she does solids twice a day now.  She nurses in the morning, 3oz of solids around 10:30, 5oz bottle at 11:30, 5oz bottle at 3:00, nurse around 5:30 when we get home, 3-4oz of solids around 7 and then nurse again right before bed.  She definitely loves her solids.  We have tried so many foods and she really eats pretty well, but she is not too interested in fruits.  She loves carrots, avocados, and peas.  we have also done butternut squash which she likes.  As far as fruits we started with peaches (did not like), pears (eh?), apples (not so much) and bananas.  She liked the bananas the most but we definitely have to mix the vegetables in to get her to eat fruits.

Bedtime:Our bedtime routine is still the same.  She is in bed around 9:00.

Awake: She is awake for about 2 1/2 hours at a time right now.  We start our day at about 6:15. 

Naps: She will take about a 30-60 minute nap in the morning 9-10 and then a 2 hour nap from 1-3.  We still do a 45-60 minute nap in the evenings from 6-7.

Diapers: size 2

Clothes: We have made it into the 6 month clothes although they're kind of baggy.

Favorites: She sure has figured out this army crawl thing.  She just goes so fast now.  The minute you put her on the floor she is gone.  She hasn't figured out the real crawling on the hands and knees but why does she need to if she can army crawl?  She will get up on her hands and knees and rock but that's about it.  Every now and then she will pull one knee up one scoot but then drops to her belly.

A Little Update

Sorry I have been MIA from my blog for awhile.  These past few months have been really crazy over here for us.  I had lots of traveling for residency interviews.  Those are all done thank goodness.  Then I went back for what's called a second look.  I got to spend the morning with the residents to see how things run on the floor.  A great way to really get a good look at how the program runs.

This month's schedule has been crazy as well.  I've been working until either 8pm or 10pm depending on which shift I'm on.  It's been a great month other than getting home so late.  I either get home just in time to put Alexis to bed or she is already asleep.  I just have 4 more shifts to work, then it's off to the next rotation.

At the beginning of February Alexis had her first cold.  She had a fever for four days, coughing, snot etc.  It was so pitiful.  Then she was better for about a week and then new fever of 102.8 and nice ol' ear infection.  She is now finishing up some antibiotics for the ear infection.  Her routine is still thrown off from being sick.

I submitted my residency rank list this week.  I will find out in 3 weeks where I'm off to for residency.  I'm just glad it is out of my control. :)

I'm hoping to get back into the swing of blogging again.  Sorry I've been gone.

6 Months

Sorry for being late.  :( 

 

Weight: 13lbs 6oz

Length: 25 in

Eating: This past month we introduced some solids.  It really was a lot of fun.  We started off with oatmeal.  We would just do about 2 tsp of oatmeal mixed with 1oz of breast milk just to get her use to the spoon.  It was pretty soupy.  We did this for about a solid week.  I think I was in denial that she was ready for solids because it took me awhile before I started introducing anything else.  We introduced carrots first and she loved them!  Then we tried some green beans.  She wasn't too excited about them.  This has been her eating routine: nurse in the morning, 3 bottles at daycare, nurse in the evening followed by solids and then again once before bed.  When we introduced oatmeal her bottles went way down at daycare.  She was only eating 5-6oz during the entire day at the daycare and then she eventually just dropped one bottle right at the end of the month, so she is only taking 2 bottles during the day.

Bedtime: We start our bedtime routine around 8:30.  This consists of bath (which is every other day), baby massages (lotion time), pjs, eat and bed by 9:15.

Awake: She is awake for about 2 hours at a time right now.  We start our day at about 6:45.  If she's not awake by then, we wake her up to get her day going.

Naps: She typically takes two shorter naps in the morning.  Then in the afternoon she will take about a two and a half hour nap.  She then takes a 45-60 minute nap in the evenings from 6:30-7:30ish.

Diapers: size 2.

Clothes: 3 months, we got rid of all of the clothes that were 0-3 month as they were too small.

Favorites: She is now sitting up by herself.  Just this last week she figured out how to do the army crawl.  She is on her tummy but can pull herself forward by her arms.  It is too cute.  We have a baby on the go!

Baby Food

Someone loves her baby food and her big girl high chair.  She gets excited when it's time to sit in the high chair as she knows what's coming next.  So far we have done oatmeal cereal, carrots, greenbeans, and avocado.  She's still unsure about the greenbeans.  We love the avocado!

Green Beans...YUCK!

We tried green beans this last week and Alexis wasn't too impressed.

We have tried them again and she is starting to like them.  Not as much as the carrots, but I can get her to eat them.

Baby Cereal

We tried Oatmeal Cereal for the first time last night. Alexis LOVED it. She was leaning in to get the spoon and even reached for the spoon. She did quite well and ate more than what got on her. She did cry at one point when I was going too slow. It was so fun!!! I can't wait to start baby food with her. :)